Masked
by Namikaze Artemis
Summary: Albus Severus Potter didn't want people to look at him like he was just a copy of his father. Unfortunately, it seemed inevitable. But what if they didn't know who he was... what if he was merely Alfred Stevens, just another student?


**Diclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

_Masked_

When Albus Severus Potter was eight, he got his first taste of fame.

He didn't like it. Much.

His father, Harry, had taken him and James to visit Diagon Alley for the first time. His mother, Ginny, had been against it, but Harry had insisted that they both needed to see more than the houses of relatives and family friends.

James had never been to Diagon Alley before as well, and he practically was jumping off the walls when he heard the news. The two of them looked quite alike, with their identical jet-black hair. Their eyes were the thing that was different, with Albus' green-eyes and James' brown eyes.

Lily wanted to go as well, but Ginny had put her foot down at that. She refused to let Lily go just yet.

"She isn't ready for it," she had insisted.

Harry didn't argue, respecting Ginny's wishes. He likely agreed as well. Lily, on the hand, threw quite the temper tantrum. She was easily subdued with the promise of being taken once she turned eight, although she was still quite dissatisfied.

James was somewhat irritated at only being taken now, despite the fact he was already ten. He had kept his complaints from his parents, not wanting to be prevented from visiting the Alley. He instead rattled off all his complaints to Albus, who patiently listened.

When the day of the visit finally arrived, Harry cast a spell over both of them. Their jet-black hair faded to a dirty blond. He then proceeded to cast the same spell over himself. Harry's facial structure changed ever so slightly, and his hair faded to the same blond as his sons.

"Now, try not to call each other by your names, okay?" Harry instructed. "There'll be problems if people find out who we are."

"How come?" Albus asked, his bright green eyes staring up in confusion.

"I'm a bit famous," Harry said simply. "Now, James, Albus, I'll be going through the Floo first. You know what to do, right?"

The two of them gave dual signs of agreement.

One after another, they headed through the Floo and to Diagon Alley.

Things went absolutely marvelously, at first. They visited various shops in the Alley, and while the only thing Harry would buy for them was candy, it was still a wonderful experience.

That was, until Harry accidentally got in the way of a 'Finite Incantum' spell. Later, he would swear that it must have been on purpose. How else could such a spell just happen to hit him while Harry was wearing a glamour?

The glamour dissipated, and it seemed as though time stopped for a moment. The people around them stared at Harry in shock.

Then they swarmed.

Albus glanced at James, his eyes wide and frightened. James wasn't doing much better, what with the pushing and scraping around him. Albus' hand snaked out to clench James' hand.

The noise around them increased and went to an all-time high. Albus could feel Harry tighten his grip around him, and he hoped that Harry had the same strong grip on James.

"Hold on to your brother," Harry murmured. Lifting up his wand, he muttered something under his breath.

Albus wasn't sure what happened, but suddenly, the crowd was behind a glowing green shield.

"Hold on _very _tightly to your brother, Albus. We're going to apparate," Harry ordered. Lifting his wand up again, the world appeared to twist into a maelstrom of different colours. His body was getting squished by something, killing his breath. But just as he was starting to genuinely panic about not being able to breathe, the ordeal was over.

Looking around, he discovered that they had apparated into the living room of their house. Hearing a muffled groan, he let James' hand go.

James had his hand over his mouth, attempting to prevent himself from throwing up.

"I didn't know… I didn't know that you were that famous," Albus whispered.

"I'm sorry, you two," Harry said. "We ran into a spout of bad luck, didn't we?"

The two of them gave twin nods of agreement.

But, Albus had to admit something. It was scary- downright terrifying- with all those people crowding around him. However, there still something interesting about the whole situation.

* * *

When Albus Severus Potter was nine, he got his first major doubts about fame.

It was summer, and James had just finished his first year at Hogwarts. Albus and James remained close brothers, although James still was prone to occasionally teasing him. The two of them were sitting on the bed in Albus' room.

Albus was listening intently to James' tales of Hogwarts.

"They don't see me," James griped, crossing his arms. "They look at me, and they don't even see _Dad_. They see James Potter- not me, Dad's father-"

"- you mean our grandpa?" Albus cut in.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, they all think I'm going to be a prankster," James muttered. "They _expect _it. I've done nothing this whole year, and they still look at me like I'm going to make their hair blue or something! I worked hard to get fourth or fifth- highest in all my classes, because pranksters usually aren't good students, right? But those looks... those looks won't go away."

"But who's 'they'?" Albus asked curiously. "It's not the entire school or anything, right?"

"'They' is everyone. Everyone in that school," James snapped. "From the Headmistress herself to Fred!"

"What? Fred too?" Albus said incredulously.

"He's one of the worst," James retorted. "All this year, he's asked me to help me with pranks. Luckily, he didn't do anything this year- but if does next year, guess who's going to get blamed along with him?"

"That's so stupid!" Albus exclaimed.

"Tell me about it," James said, his voice morose. "I should've asked that stupid Hat to put me in one of the other houses. Albus, whatever you do, _don't _go into Gryffindor if you want to be seen as yourself. I don't think you'll have any problems with that, as you seem like Ravenclaw material- but just in case."

"Ravenclaw?" Albus raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

James gave a pointed look towards the two full bookcases in the corner of Albus' room.

"Okay, maybe you have a point," Albus admitted.

"Ravenclaw or Slytherin, that's what I say," James said. "Speaking of Slytherin, do you know how the other houses treat them?"

As James ranted on the completely unfair behavior towards Slytherins, Albus withdrew into his thoughts.

If James was going to be seen as a clone of their grandpa, was he going to be seen as a clone of their father?

Fame was alluring, but he didn't want fame from things he didn't do.

* * *

When Albus Severus Potter was ten, he decided that he didn't want to go to Hogwarts.

Or rather, he didn't want to go to Hogwarts as _himself_. Yet another year had passed, and James was full with more stories of unfairness and mistaken assumptions. Albus didn't want to be judged before people even knew him.

Albus had told James his idea. Much to Albus' surprise, James had supported it, insisting that Albus had to try to get Dad to accept it.

Hesitantly, Albus knocked on the door to Harry's office.

"Dad? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Harry's voice floated out from behind the door. "Come in, Albus."

Albus shuffled into the room, nervously fiddling with his own hands behind his back.

"What did you want to ask me?" Harry asked, putting aside the paperwork that he had been working on. He was sitting behind a large wooden desk, a quill clenched in his hand.

"I…" Albus gulped, looking to the side. "That is…"

Harry waited patiently for Albus to tell him what he wanted.

"I- is there any way I could go to Hogwarts as someone else?" Albus finally said.

Harry frowned, a confused look floating onto his face.

"Sorry, Albus, but I'm not exactly sure what you mean."

As he hadn't been instantly shot down, Albus gained a bit of confidence.

"I don't want to be famous. I want to be just like everyone else," Albus explained. "James has told me all about what happened to him at Hogwarts, and what everyone automatically thought of him. I want to go to Hogwarts under an assumed name."

Harry's eyes widened. His dreams of normality, the ones that he had long since realized were futile, briefly flitted through his mind.

"I'll see what I can do." Harry smiled. "I won't make any promises, though."

A bright smile spread across Albus' face.

"Now, I need to get back to work," Harry said. "I'll tell you what the Headmistress says after I ask her, okay?"

Albus nodded, the smile still on his face, and left the room.

* * *

When Albus Severus Potter was eleven, he went to Hogwarts for the first time.

His hair had faded to a dirty blond and his nose had lengthened and flattened. While his eyes were still green, they were no longer as striking- they were closer to hazel if anything.

And his name was Alfred Stevens.

* * *

**This is my first attempt at a Harry Potter story, so don't be nice, or I won't get any better.**


End file.
